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Lava lamps.
I love them. They are pretty hypnotic! I always thought they were the coolest things ever when I was a kid, and I wanted one for the longest time. Finally, when I was... 13? I think? I finally got one! I got money for Christmas, and I immediately went to the mall and got a shiny silver lava lamp with white wax and blue water. As soon as I got home (oh, there was an adventure that day. The three guys I was with (two exchanges students we'd hosted and the brother of one of them) basically left me on my own when we were walking from one mall to the other to go to Hooters. They used the money my mom had given us for a cab to get between malls to pay for the Hooters. My mom was livid) I took the lamp out of the box, set it up, and plugged it in.
And waited. Yeah, I thought they just magically came right on. I didn't realize you had to wait for them to warm up. But eventually it finished warming up, and my life was full of yay! And I watched it. A lot.
So, what do I think about when I watch lava lamps? Well, it's... it's special. And ridiculous. And awesome.
You see, at the bottom of the lava lamp, where the coil is in the bottom of the glass, below the rim of the base, there is a civilization of tiny being. They are very tiny, so there are a lot of them. A lot a lot. And they have problems with running out of oxygen. So they send up vast bubble ships to the surface to collect oxygen. The bubble ships go up, and when they touch the surface, they start pumping in as much oxygen as possible, while pumping out just as much used air. Kind of like whales, only it's technology. Only, some of the ships don't make it all the way to the top. They only get halfway up, then they sputter out and crash back down, their mission failed. It's very sad for the civilization on the bottom, because they are always so worried about having enough air to breathe. But sometimes, instead of a bubble ship, they manage to send up a looooooooong stretchy ship, that can reach from the civilization to the surface! Then they can pump so much oxygen down to home, and get rid off all their used air at once! Oh, the celebrations when they pull that one off.
But see, the thing is? This is just about real to me. It's not just an imaginary civilization anymore. I mean, technically I know that I just made it up, but emotionally it's completely real. I find myself cheering the bubble ships and streamers on, and I am so disappointed when a bubble ship doesn't make it, or a streamer breaks too soon.
This is the power of my imagination. Even when I know I have made it up, it becomes very real to me. The downside to this, of course, is when I imagine something bad. That bad or scary thing becomes real, and oh, the panic that follows. If you've ever read Anne of Green Gables, you'll know what I'm talking about... when Anne makes up a story about a haunted wood, and then is scared of it even though she knows she made it up. When I read that part, it was like LM Montgomery was reading my brain.
I love them. They are pretty hypnotic! I always thought they were the coolest things ever when I was a kid, and I wanted one for the longest time. Finally, when I was... 13? I think? I finally got one! I got money for Christmas, and I immediately went to the mall and got a shiny silver lava lamp with white wax and blue water. As soon as I got home (oh, there was an adventure that day. The three guys I was with (two exchanges students we'd hosted and the brother of one of them) basically left me on my own when we were walking from one mall to the other to go to Hooters. They used the money my mom had given us for a cab to get between malls to pay for the Hooters. My mom was livid) I took the lamp out of the box, set it up, and plugged it in.
And waited. Yeah, I thought they just magically came right on. I didn't realize you had to wait for them to warm up. But eventually it finished warming up, and my life was full of yay! And I watched it. A lot.
So, what do I think about when I watch lava lamps? Well, it's... it's special. And ridiculous. And awesome.
You see, at the bottom of the lava lamp, where the coil is in the bottom of the glass, below the rim of the base, there is a civilization of tiny being. They are very tiny, so there are a lot of them. A lot a lot. And they have problems with running out of oxygen. So they send up vast bubble ships to the surface to collect oxygen. The bubble ships go up, and when they touch the surface, they start pumping in as much oxygen as possible, while pumping out just as much used air. Kind of like whales, only it's technology. Only, some of the ships don't make it all the way to the top. They only get halfway up, then they sputter out and crash back down, their mission failed. It's very sad for the civilization on the bottom, because they are always so worried about having enough air to breathe. But sometimes, instead of a bubble ship, they manage to send up a looooooooong stretchy ship, that can reach from the civilization to the surface! Then they can pump so much oxygen down to home, and get rid off all their used air at once! Oh, the celebrations when they pull that one off.
But see, the thing is? This is just about real to me. It's not just an imaginary civilization anymore. I mean, technically I know that I just made it up, but emotionally it's completely real. I find myself cheering the bubble ships and streamers on, and I am so disappointed when a bubble ship doesn't make it, or a streamer breaks too soon.
This is the power of my imagination. Even when I know I have made it up, it becomes very real to me. The downside to this, of course, is when I imagine something bad. That bad or scary thing becomes real, and oh, the panic that follows. If you've ever read Anne of Green Gables, you'll know what I'm talking about... when Anne makes up a story about a haunted wood, and then is scared of it even though she knows she made it up. When I read that part, it was like LM Montgomery was reading my brain.
